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"They tend to respond to attack, it just takes a lot of stamina to wear them down. And...well...there aren't a lot like Alpha, and believe me, he'll be slightly distracted."

Sunstrike's smile was genuine as he leaned down to speak to her. "Not all of us are so kiddy anymore. Maybe it's time some were allowed to grow up and be big boys and girls of their own, right?"

He held his arms out, pointing to himself and Max. "Sides! You've got us to go up against the heavy hitters, right? The big guys only come out if they're certain of winning, or if there's nothin left for them to lose."

He placed a warm hand on top of her head, hoping his own hope was infectious.

"We'll make sure it'll be the second reason he comes out this next time."

Why did he have to be optimistic about an almost certain death situation? xp Why couldn't he have saved that optimism for the next time they were at the mall and there was a surprise shoe sale, or he could have been optimistic about there being a salad bar at an all you can eat meat lovers buffet table? sweatdrop

"You are buying the drinks if this turns out badly and we all end up in the big bar in hell!" blaugh Raven had to shake her head slightly under the weight of Sun's hand, hope was infectious, but Rae was used to losing every fight she was stupid enough to commit to, so it was hard to see the bright side of this gamble they were taking, even if she really wanted to belive his forsight on the matter.

"Oh, um and Vahn did something to his eyes... when we parted he was blind as a bat, and I couldn't do anything to help...." now would be a good time for some of that optimism...since she was more than a little worried about someone else coming down with injuries that she couldn't fix...

It was too bad she couldn't have a peek at the helicopter from her place on the windowsill. Still, Lucind kept gazing out until she heard Maximos walking over.

"I didn't get to say anything. In fact, I was forwarded to the mail box." She turned her head to faintly grin at him. "You can tell him he has a sense of humour I can almost share.

But what I wanted to say is uhm..." Sucking on her bottom lip, Lucind looked down at the floor before raising her head again.

Can I be weak one last time before we go out to maybe never come back?

She couldn't bring herself to say it aloud, but her eyes probably gave her away. The next second, a she produced a calming smile, adding: "Small, dark rooms easily manage to bring up rather moody thoughts.

There is something else, though."

At this point, the woman shifted so that she was fully facing Maximos, both hands resting on the sill's edge, left and right of her thighs.

"What was it like, fighting this shade? This...Alpha. He gave you all a hard time, I know, but...what I mean is..." She frowned, carefully picking her words. "What did it feel like?" The Siren wasn't using any vocal technique to keep secret what she was saying, but she nevertheless lowered her voice. In the same way, a certain form of barely hidden intensity went with her questions.

"He talked with the three of you, didn't he? What was it like? On what level do those shades communicate?

And...did you look at him? I watched those we met in the forest through the lhor aven. It was..."

Lucind's eyes wandered around while she was trying to find a word fitting what she had felt.

Scary? Weird? Intriguing?

She couldn't say.

Reiyvian watched Hono'o from the corner of her eye as she wrote down what the woman told her.

"Did you feed off of Raven or vice versa?" She set the quill down for a moment and looked up, and watched as the other woman looked within herself.

"Since you acquired or reacquired this 'touch' of earth, have you felt the need to feed more often?"

The elf was putting together an understanding of the woman's hunger, because without that understanding she had no way of knowing what to offer her to satiate her appetite. She'd formed several potential plans for her, now she had to see what would suit her best, if they'd work at all or of there needed to be tweaking done.

Only the answers Hono'o gave her could help her, help her.


"Oh, um and Vahn did something to his eyes... when we parted he was blind as a bat, and I couldn't do anything to help...."

Rei's ears twitched slightly but she didn't say anything. Only a slight firmness of her lips betrayed her attention. She'd received such a report, but this confirmed it, and coming from another healer it was cause for some concern. Shin was with the Scion currently... She would see him later. She had others in her care to check on first...

'Besides...' she thought to herself. '...It might do him some good. Everyone needs to look inside themselves from time to time, and if ever there was a time---'

Her amethyst eyes were still fixed on Hono'o as she reminded herself to keep focus on what was in front of her.

"I didn't get to say anything. In fact, I was forwarded to the mail box." She turned her head to faintly grin at him. "You can tell him he has a sense of humour I can almost share."

I'm sorry, I think he throws away all of my letters.

He said honestly apologetically in return. Max still didnt get voicemail. But he listened. He watched her hesitation. There was something swirling behind those eyes, something other than blue in the calm shore that usually was her soul. It felt like rain, doubts or questions pinging on the surface and leaving streaks as they road down.

Sure, Maximos had sight, but sight was not necessarily understanding.

"But what I wanted to say is uhm..."

It looked like something was fighting to slip free, but Lucind didnt want him to see. His left hand rose, a finger under her chin to lift her head gently so she could see the care and concern in his mismatched eyes.

And then she smiled. A smile would normally have made Max do the same. But this smile seemed to deflate him.

"Small, dark rooms easily manage to bring up rather moody thoughts."

It seemed...empty, in a way he recognized all too well. He wondered at what point she learned that trick, and for a moment let his attention be pulled away.

"So if anyone objects, I'm going to hop on that copter and kindly pass out, or something like that. "

Maximos turned his head, lifting up his hand and said.

Damion! Mr. Hedley!

Before Damion could leave the Tavern.

Its experience.

He said with a smirk. It was true on a wider perspective, the hours he spent KO'd and Raven's energy and medical healing were responsible for his current wellness but otherwise.

Some of us have done this for years, for our lives even. Your young. You'll get used to it. In the meantime...

He gestured toward the stairs.

There are rooms up that hall, with comfortable beds and I would presume possibly even showers. Beds. Like back on the island?

A smirk.

It might be a great deal more comfortable than waiting hours in a chopper.

Before her voice called him back.

"There is something else, though."

His eyes looked down at her hands, the window, and then back at her. Unable, maybe unwilling to face a fake smile of that sort.

Hmm?

"What was it like, fighting this shade? This...Alpha. He gave you all a hard time, I know, but...what I mean is..." She frowned, carefully picking her words. "What did it feel like?"

Maximos cocked an eyebrow. Thats really all he could think to do, what did she mean by all that?

"He talked with the three of you, didn't he? What was it like? On what level do those shades communicate? And...did you look at him? I watched those we met in the forest through the lhor aven. It was..."

Maximos was stunned. It wasnt what she was saying. It was how she was saying it. Lucind questioned about the Shadelord in the same way a little child would question another about a trip to an amusement park. It was like the forces mounting to destroy the world were a most interesting topic of conversation. Not monsters. Not a threat. Not a danger. Not the causers of countless of ended lives no....just a very interesting curiosity.

Max could say with all confidence and truth, that he did not like the sound of that. And the answer he gave was the quickest and easiest way to sum up the everything the experience with Alpha left him feeling.

Empty.

He said, directly, with all the heaviness it deserved.

It like staring into the face of Nothingness. And doing all you can to keep it from dragging your body and soul and mind into it.

An equally heavy statement.

Alpha is the purest creature I have ever met. His goals, his intentions, his desires are all framed toward a singular purpose...and all by choice. Not design. Not fanaticism.

He closed his eyes and shook his and then said.

Why so curious?

Beds sounded better, and thus a redirection would take place, Damion spinning on his feet to head towards where he had seen a dwarf earlier. Behind the counter in other words. And over he would go, no grace, just kind of rolling over it in the most lazy fashion possible until he landed in a three point stance with his book.

" No objectors? Well fine." Ignore the dwarf, in laymans terms, and if the dimunitive creature objected to his presence, Damion would do just that, searching for keys to rooms and such until finally giving up and just deciding to ransack a room, hopping back over the bar to head up towards the rooms and away.

The islander went upstairs to rest.

Tall Dark and TwoEyes and the dark-haired woman were chatting amongst themselves.

This little blond girl and buxom red-and-black haired woman were discussing something about energy.

Quickly, people were discussing this and that, most of which had no real bearing on the young mage.

Turning to the tall, firered-haired man, Cecil would ask him an important question, aside from everyone else, so the hope that was starting to build within them wouldn't be tarnished.

"Umm... sir? I was wondering..." he started, pausing and averting his gaze before continuing. "What are our chances of success? Not that I'm backing out, just... I don't know... I'm getting the impression this is anything but a cake walk."